I Just Realized Why
by musical-aven
Summary: Sam's wedding to Pete.


This story came up as I thought about howI would have liked the Sam/Pete wedding to turn out if it would have gotten through...don't worry, it's a sam/jack story at the end.

Again, the characters don't belong to me and this story was written for fun only.

Summary: Sam's wedding to Pete.

Enjoy!

**I Just Realized Why**

**By musical-Aven**

Sam was feeling sick. She was anxious, tired and so uncomfortable in those shoes! She stopped pacing and took a big breath. She then opened her eyes when she heard a knock at the door.

"Sam? You descent in there?"

Daniel. She smiled.

"Come in, Daniel."

The archeologist entered and froze, looking at her with an odd expression on his face.

"What?" Sam asked.

"You…you look fantastic!"

Sam smiled the first real smile since she woke up this morning and realized this was really happening.

"Thanks."

At that moment, the door opened again after a short knock.

"Teal'c! Come in." Sam said, giving him a little hug.

"Colonel Carter, you look most beautiful."

"Thanks, Teal'c, but I can't wait to put my BDU's on."

"It's not every day you wear a wedding dress, just enjoy the moment." Daniel replied.

"Yeah…" Sam grimaced. She just wasn't able to enjoy the moment as much as she should.

"Is it not a pleasurable and beautiful thing to get married to the man who will share your life?" Teal'c asked.

Sam tried to suppress the feeling of panic rising in her throat before speaking.

"Actually, it's terrifying." She said.

"Don't worry, Sam. Every thing will be just fine." Daniel tried to reassure her even if he wasn't convinced himself.

A silence followed and Sam looked at the door, half expecting, half hoping to see a certain general walked trough it.

"He's not there yet."

Sam looked at Daniel, nodded and tried to hide her disappointment, failing miserably.

"But he will, eventually. Don't worry." Daniel said.

"It's okay, Daniel. Anyway, I've got plenty of things to think about, without worrying about who's here and who's not."

"He'll be here, Sam. You asked him to, he's going to come."

"He doesn't owe me anything. I mean, I know this isn't the best of situations, and I would totally understand if he didn't come-"

Sam stopped when she realized that Daniel and Teal'c were looking behind her with a strange face. She then turned to see Jack O'neill standing in the doorway, listening to her monologue. She also saw the hurt in his eyes and mentally kicked herself for not trusting him and, most importantly, his friendship.

"Sir." She said with a small voice.

Jack stared at her for a second and took the time to look at her head to toe. He finally spoke, covering the embarrassment and emotions by his usual sarcasm.

"I made my way trough the crowd of men waiting outside to see the gorgeous bride. I pulled out my VIP card, they were really jealous." He finished with a satisfied smile.

The awkwardness in Sam's eyes disappeared and was replaced by a smile. A silence followed and Daniel made up some excuse to leave them alone, taking Teal'c with him. Finally alone, Sam broke the silence.

"So…this crowd of men outside, are there any handsome ones in it?"

"Well…I suppose it depends on the meaning of 'handsome'…but I think there are some who have…potential."

"Really? Maybe I should have a look!" she joked.

"Aren't you getting married, Carter?"

Sam lost her smile and sank into a chair.

"urrg, don't remind me, please."

"Nervous?" Jack asked gently, walking toward her.

"I would actually prefer to face an army of Anubis' Supersoldiers than to do this…why did I agree to this? Tell me why?" Sam said, mostly to herself.

Jack sat down in the chair in front of her and took a moment to answer.

"Because you love him."

Sam then looked up to his eyes and looked down sadly.

"Yeah…"

After a moment, she rubbed her eyes tiredly. Jack bent to take her hand gently. He kept it between his and made eye-contact.

"hey, I know it's terrifying, but everything will go just fine. And thrust me when I say that for the groom, it's one scary, but wonderful moment to see the woman of your dream walk up the aisle to you in a gorgeous dress."

Sam's eyes filled with tears as Jack spoke. He was right. It was suppose to be the most beautiful moment of her life. But as she listened to the man in front of her, she realized how this day had been wrong: the groom wasn't the right one. And as much as she tried, as usual, to convince herself otherwise, today, facing Jack O'Neill, she couldn't do it. A single tear rolled on her cheek and Jack reached to erase it. Sam closed her eyes and when she opened them, she looked into jack's eyes and saw the most caring, passionate, loving but regretful look in them. He was holding back when she needed him to open up. She needed him to make the whole mess she was creating with Pete to go away and he wasn't doing anything. And that just made her cry more.

"Say something…" she said with a shaky voice." You just have to say something, Jack, you know it. Anything."

He looked at her and seemed to consider his choices. After a few seconds, he spoke.

"-I don't have the right to say anything, Sam, and you know I won't. You know I won't make the decision for you."

"But you could make the decision easier for me." she replied, in an hopeful voice.

Jack sighed and looked at her, making her understand that as much as he wanted to say something and end the wedding, he wouldn't do it because it wasn't his decision. When Sam saw that he wouldn't speak, she sat closer to him.

"Please Jack, tell me that this is the biggest mistake of my life, that Pete isn't good enough for me, tell me not to marry him…" she pleaded.

Jack couldn't look in her eyes anymore. He desperately didn't want Carter to marry this guy, he wanted her for himself. But at the same time, he didn't want her to pass an opportunity to wait for him to be free from the regulations. And most importantly, he didn't want her to have any regret because of him. Looking up, he realized that this was his last chance to tell how he felt, but he refused to let anything come out of his mouth. So he used actions over words. He bent down in front of her, took her face in his hands and kissed her as if life depended on it. Sam was surprised at first but it didn't take her long to respond to his kiss. As the kiss ended, Jack looked in her eyes and said in a breathless, but firm voice:

"Samantha Carter, I care about you more than I ever thought possible, but I will **not** tell you to screw your chances at a loving husband, a family, house and most importantly happiness. You've got a great guy on your hands here and some…feelings you had for an old, sarcastic man are not worth pushing this guy away, understood?"

Sam let her tears flow down her cheeks as she listened to him. She didn't **want** to let go of that old, sarcastic man, nor of her feelings for him. She then remembered her conversation with her father on the Prometheus. He had told her that she had to let go of her safe-bet and take a chance at happiness. Jack was saying the same thing. Looking down, she nodded at his 'order' and watched Jack O'Neill walk out of her room, and out of her heart.

The music began and all the people in the church got up and turned to see the bride come in. Sam took a big breath to calm herself before stepping forward, clinging to her father's arm. It's after the third step that she realized the he had left the church. She looked at Daniel and saw the apologetic look on his face. He left! She couldn't do this without him! He had to be present at her wedding! This was wrong, so wrong! Sam stopped in the middle of the alley. She looked at Cassie, then at Daniel and Teal'c. She ignored the questioned look on her father's face and finally looked at Pete. And what she saw surprised her the most : understanding. Pete already knew that he had a very slim chance at having Samantha Carter for himself, and today he really thought that was happening, but when he saw her stopped in the middle of the church, looking for another man, he knew. And surprisingly, he understood. Sam had always held back a little with him and when one day he saw her act around Jack O'Neill, he understood why. He always hoped that she would choose him in the end, but realized it wasn't happening when she looked at him apologetically across the aisle. He could read that she was sorry for the trouble she caused and was about to cause so he sighed, letting her go. Sam turned around and got out of the church as fast as she could. She could hear the "oh!"'s and the "ah!"'s but couldn't care less because she knew that this was the right decision.

It's only after the two-hour drive that Sam smiled, seeing the cozy cabin Jack kept talking about. She got out of her car, put on her uncomfortable shoes and went around the cabin. She was nervous as to what he was going to say. And then she saw Jack sitting in a chair on his deck, playing with his fishing pole, all the nervousness disappeared. She approached the deck carefully and stopped when she was close enough for him to hear her speak. Taking a moment, she looked at him and was surprised to see so much hurt on his face. Being careful not to scare him, she spoke in a quiet and light voice.

"Caught anything yet?"

She saw him tense. He turned slowly and stared at her, wondering if she was a dream. She was still in her wedding dress but her hair was a little bit messy by the ride. She looked tired, as if she had cried. All kind of emotions ran on Jack's face and Sam was a bit scared by them. Finding his voice, he finally spoke.

"What…what are you doing here?"

"I uh…when I realized you had left the church, the first thought that ran though my head was "I can't do this without him!"…I needed you to be at my wedding…"

Jack stood up and opened his mouth to apologize and explain why he had left, but Sam silenced him with her hand.

"At the time, I didn't know why I so desperately needed you to be there…but in an instant, it became so clear to me. I need you at my wedding because I can't get married without you…I can't marry anyone but you…if it's going to be my wedding, it has to be yours as well…" she finished whispering.

Sam found her tears threatening to fall and Jack sighed. He took her hands in his and pulled her into his embrace. His face buried in her neck, he whispered back:

"You shouldn't have done this…not for me."

"If it's gonna put me in your arms like this, then it was my best idea ever."

She looked at him and continued:

"Jack, these feelings I have for you won't go away. I tried to keep them at bay but it just didn't work. I'm in love with you, I always have…and I'm in love with every part of you! From the old, sarcastic man to the caring, passionate man! I can't help it."

Jack kissed her and only when they both needed air, they pulled apart. Jack buried his head in her neck once again and murmured:

"God, what did I do to deserve this?"

Sam smiled and replied:

"Well, you certainly did something right, because I'll always be yours."

Jack looked at her and kissed her again, never wanting to let go. _This is right,_ Sam thought_, whatever the consequences._ Ending the kiss, she looked up lovingly in Jack's eyes and said:

"Take me fishing Jack, I've waited long enough for it."

The end!

Hope you liked it!

musical-Aven, 2006


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